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What do you consider a reasonable time frame for feedback on papers?


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DS is taking a writing course and it's been about 3 weeks since he submitted a paper and no grade or feedback yet.  Would you consider that reasonable? The instructor said they would have it graded last week but nothing so far.

 

The issue I have is he has to write another long paper shortly and has no feedback on the first one so it's difficult to know if he's going in the right direction. Should he bother contacting the instructor or is that not appropriate?

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I would have him ask the instructor. I think that's totally appropriate in this situation. Especially if the paper he's waiting on is the very first paper for that class and the next one is due soon. It's hard to know what the instructor's expectations and suggestions are if the previous paper hasn't been passed back yet. 

 

My DS is taking a writing class online that has a paper due every Thursday. The previous week's paper is returned on the same day the next one is due. So a one week turnaround, but his papers aren't that long, only 2 to 3 pages. But we knew going in that was how it would work.

 

If there are not that many papers assigned over the entire course, I can see it taking longer to get feedback, but still, 3 weeks seems like plenty of time to grade and return.

Edited by TarynB
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One more thought: Are your son's papers handed in and returned via some type of online platform or portal? Or is it handled via email? Either way, maybe its possible that your son's paper was returned and he doesn't know it due to a glitch or spam filter or some notification that he didn't get or missed? But still, if that was the case, he should be able to see a grade assigned to that paper, assuming they use a gradebook in an online platform. Definitely have him ask about it.

 

Let us know what you find out!

Edited by TarynB
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Dd#1 is taking a writing class and the (final drafts of) papers have been taking 3 or more weeks to come back with a grade. If there are lots of students or the teacher is making lots of comments, I can understand this. (In her case, there are less than 20 students and not many comments.)

 

Dd is just dealing with it. I think she'd submitted two (final drafts of) papers and at least one rough draft before she got her first grade.

 

Perfectly reasonable to ask the instructor if the papers were expected to be graded last week.

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I appreciate all the responses. This is only our second foray into outside courses so I wasn't sure what typical expectations are these days. This was the first long paper he had to do, so definitely he needs some guidance. It's an online class with a small number of students and the papers/grades/feedback are posted on the class portal so I don't think we've missed anything. I'll have him contact the instructor. 

Edited by 3andme
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At my university there were a few professors who took so long to return assignments that students complained. The university responded by making it a rule that if it was going to take longer than two weeks for an assignment to be graded and returned then the professor HAD to notify students via email and in class. After that things began to come back to us much more quickly.

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DD14 and DD12 are taking classes at Open Tent Academy with Ms Eva, and turnaround time is outstanding - less than 3 days so far. Papers have only been one to two pages so it may take longer as assignments lengthen. Feedback has been solid. She gives kudos for a job well done and yet directly addresses deficiencies. Ms Eva sent DD12 video feedback which was extra special. Our daughter replayed it several times.

 

In fact, Open Tent Academy with its live online classes has been an outstanding fit for our family. We receive timely feedback from all of our instructors.

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DD14

Lights! Camera! Action! - an English class which is movie based. We're all watching movies which were never on our radar before.

World Wars - for my stem daughter, she's learning a ton about World War I and is proud of her new found knowledge 

Art History - taking this class for an elective credit and enjoying it more than she anticipated

Deaf Culture - this class start in January

 

DD12

Powerful Paragraphs - demanding class for my girl but she's growing and maturing as a writer 

 

Our girls perform better with live online classes. We plan to continue with OTA. 

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